


Rossi's House

by Kaunis_Sielu



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 20:49:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 8,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12992250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaunis_Sielu/pseuds/Kaunis_Sielu
Summary: You pick up a second job as a housekeeper for David Rossi





	1. Chapter 1

You pull up to the house and are floored. One man lives here? Honestly, house is the wrong term. Mansion is more like it. You glance at the folder again, David Rossi is the clients name. He doesn’t like to be woken early, so he asks you come in the evenings. No kids, spouse or pets, and travels a lot for work. You take a deep breath and climb out of the car. Even though it’s almost 7 in the evening it’s still plenty light out. You ring the doorbell and glance over your shoulder at the front yard. His lawn crew does an amazing job. The door clicks open and you’re slightly surprised by his appearance. He’s probably in his late 50’s or early 60’s.   
“Mr. Rossi?” He looks at you suspiciously. Was he not told you were coming by?  
“Agent.” He says.   
“Pardon?”  
“Agent Rossi.”  
“My apologies sir. My name is Lila Perris I’m the new house keeper.”   
“Oh!” Recognition lights his face and he pulls the door open. “Welcome Mrs. Perris.”  
“Ms. Actually but I prefer Lila if you don’t mind.” You say with a smile.   
“And I prefer Dave.” He returns your smile. He’s got a kind face, dark hair and olive skin, he’s definitely Italian. “What happened to Clare?”  
“She left.” More like was fired for stealing from clients.   
“Mmhmm.” He says with a small smirk.   
“I just wanted to come by today and make sure that we’re on the same page as far as what you need done.” He nods and you continue, “I read in your file that you travel a lot for work. Is there anything specific I need to do differently for when you’re gone?”  
“There’s a timed light in my study that needs to be set so that it turns on at dusk and off at 3 am.”   
“Okay. Are there any chemicals you don’t want used in the house?”  
“No.”  
“I also saw that you have every other weekend scheduled, is there a specific time you’d like me here or not here at?”  
“As long as it’s not before noon you’re fine.”   
“On a daily basis you want the kitchen, bathrooms and bed made. Every other day you have dusting and sweeping. While once a week you want the sheets washed and the floor mopped correct?”  
“Yep.” That’s when it hits you, the sound of Tosca. One of Italy’s most famous operas.  
“I’m sorry, is that Tosca?”  
“It is. Good ear.” He seems pleased.   
“My grandpa came from Italy when he was 15. Met my grandma here so I was raised with a lot of Italian and French food and Italian opera. My favorite is La Traviata.”  
“Ah good one.” He grins at you, “I think you’re going to get along here just fine.”  
“Do you need me to cook at all?” You ask as he leads you toward the sound of Tosca.  
“You do that?” He looks at you in surprise.   
“Occasionally.”  
“I’ll let you know.” He shows you around the house then and you can’t help but enjoy his company. He’s very easy to be around, some clients are too stuffy. But not Dave. He’s serious but there’s just something about him that makes you feel comfortable. It must be your Italian kinship.


	2. Chapter 2

You had spent two hours at his house. Most of that time had been talking about your shared heritage, he’d been making dinner and had insisted you have some of the rigatoni that he was making and it had smelled amazing. He gave you a key and you traded cell phone numbers in case something changed and you’d gone home. Sure enough early the next morning Dave texts you and let’s you know that he’s been called away for a case. He doesn’t know when he’ll be back but he promises to let you know. You keep your schedule and head over to his house each day, gather up the mail, punch in your security code, dust, vacuum then turn on the light timer. He comes back a few days later and it becomes pretty normal for you to spend more time talking to him, about his books, family, how you both grew up and your job more than his. He doesn’t seem overly keen to talk about his work, you just kind of assume that’s because it’s not an easy one and he wants to leave it at the office. It’s not until two months later, when he’s gone on one of the longer cases does he come home rattled.   
It had been nearly a week since you’d seen Dave. But on the sixth day when you head over you’re pleased to see his car in the driveway. Entering his home you hear the sound of an opera you don’t know.   
“Dave?” You call moving into the house. You want him to know you’re here, mostly so he doesn’t assume that you’re an intruder. “Dave, it’s Lila.” You hear him then, he comes down the stairs looking worn.   
“Hey.” He gives you a small smile. You’ve never seen this Dave before.   
“Hi, have you eaten?”  
“No.”  
“Go pour yourself some wine and I’ll get started on some dinner.”  
“You don’t have to do that.”   
“I know. I make a killer Spinach Risotto, if you want to change you could do that too.” You head strait to the kitchen and start pulling out the ingredients from the fridge and pantry. One of the best things about Dave’s kitchen is that it’s extremely well stocked and he has everything you need. He comes into the kitchen a few minutes later with two glasses and a bottle of wine. “None for me tonight. I have some grading to do still when I get home.” He nods and only fills one of the glasses with wine. Neither of you say much as you cook, you assume that he’ll talk when he’s ready. You occasionally glance up at him and he’s lost in his own head, his eyes unfocused. This must have been a hard case. He lets out a long sigh ten minutes later.   
“I’m sorry.” He says softly.   
“For?”  
“I’m not very good company right now.”  
“You’re fine. You have a hard job, you’re allowed to relax and unwind however you need.” You continue your cooking in silence, he’s watching as you add in the cheese and butter. It will only be a couple of minutes, you grab a bowl out of his cupboard dish up some of the Spinach Risotto slide it in front of him with a spoon and salt.   
“Salt to your taste.” You say as you start cleaning up. Turning away all you hear is the gentle clink of his spoon against the bowl.


	3. Chapter 3

You finish cleaning his house that night in silence. You don’t know what else to do but you don’t want to leave him alone.   
“Dave?” You ask as you round the corner into the kitchen. “Is there anything else I can do?”  
“No, thank you.” He smiles over at you and you return the gesture. On the ride home he calls you.   
“Hi Dave. Is everything okay?”  
“Yea, yea everything is fine. I just wanted to thank you.”  
“Oh, it was nothing.”  
“No, you don’t know how much that just making a meal can help. Some of the stuff my team deals with, it’s not easy.” He sighs deeply, “just the fact that you were around was helpful. Thank you.”  
“I’m glad that I could be there for you.” You honestly say. Being so far from your family is hard and Dave reminds you of your family, loud, proud and Italian.   
“I really do appreciate it Lila.” He says kindly. “Let me make it up to you. Some coworkers of mine are going out tomorrow night. You want to go? They’re all younger and you don’t have to hang out with me all night. I think you’ll get along with Hotch but I don’t know if he’s coming.” He’s rambling like he’s nervous.   
“Dave. Calm down.” You laugh and he joins in.   
“Sorry, what I’m trying to say is it would be a night out with friends. Not a date, my daughter is your age.”  
“Sounds like fun.”   
“You don’t have to.”  
“I know. If I’m going to be hearing about, Morgan, Reid, Hotch, Prentiss, JJ and Garcia I’d like to have names to go with faces.”  
“Good memory.” He chuckles. “Do you want me to pick you up?”  
“Nah, I have to stay late at work, I have a parent meeting about some behavioral issues I’ve been having with a student, he’s bullying another child so both parents are coming so we can talk about it.”  
“Alright, we’re meeting at the Virgil at 7.”  
“I’ll be there.” You hang up and give a light laugh, he was too nice to you.


	4. Chapter 4

The school day flies by, mostly because you’re dreading your meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. If Mr. Brooks decides to show up that is. You hear the angry click of her heels well before she enters the room. You meet her by the door and see that she’s alone. Closing the door behind her you turn toward her.   
“Thank you for coming Mrs. Brooks. Is Mr. Brooks going to be joining us this afternoon?”  
“No he’s on a business trip.” She says primly, crossing one leg over the other in the chair you’d placed across from your desk. You’d learned to keep your distance with Mrs. Brooks.   
“I just wanted to talk to you about Jameson and some issues we’re having with bullying.” You begin and she sighs.   
“I’m sure you can handle it.” she says standing up.   
“Mrs. Brooks please sit down.”  
“I don’t have time for this.” She snaps.   
“You don’t have time for your son?” You ask calmly, “maybe that’s why he’s acting out at school. To force you to pay attention.” She turns angry eyes on you, she’s got three modes. Angry, indifferent and annoyed.   
“Excuse me?” She hisses.   
“Are there any issues going on at home that I should know about?” You ask gently, “the loss of a loved one, a pet dying, divorce.”  
“How dare you!” She shrieks, “I’ve heard enough! I’ll have your job for this!” Apparently she and Mr. Brooks were having martial issues. She storms out of the classroom and you don’t try to stop her. You heave a sigh and rub your forehead closing your eyes you roll your neck. Tonight with Dave and his friends cannot come fast enough.   
“Excuse me?” A deep voice says and your eyes snap open. “I’m a little early but I’m Jack’s dad. Aaron Hotchner.”   
“Come on in.” You say with a smile, you can see Jack in him, they have the same eyes. “I’m Ms. Perris. It’s nice to finally meet you.”   
“You too.” He comes in and sits down on one of the chairs you lean against your desk in front of him.   
“I just wanted to let you know that we’ve been having some issues with bullying-”  
“Is this the parent of the child whose bullying my son?” Mrs. Brooks is back.   
“No Mrs. Brooks, I already told you who the problem was.” Mr. Hotchner looks between the two of you but doesn’t say anything.   
“My Jamison would NEVER misbehave. It’s his sons fault. Maybe if his mother was here we could have a real discussion about this!”  
“Mrs. Brooks! Out!” You know that Jack’s mom was murdered when he was little, he’d written about it on her birthday in his daily journal and it broke your heart.   
“It’s alright Ms. Perris.” Mr. Hotchner says softly. “Mrs. Brooks, my wife was murdered when Jack was four.” She goes red in the face and dashes from the room. You’re left stunned. Someone actually shut Mrs. Brooks up.


	5. Chapter 5

You shut the door this time. “I’m so sorry.”  
“For what?”  
“Mrs. Brooks is one of those parents who believes that their child is a saint. I should have handled that better.” You drop into the chair next to him. “We’re not here to talk about her though. I want to tell you what’s going on with Jack.” He nods and you continue. “There’s a group of six boys that have been picking on a handful of other kids and if you’re not with them you’re a target. Jack tried to stand up for one of his friends that was being picked on and this group turned on Jack. It only lasted about half of a day but he’s been more withdrawn since then. Have you noticed any changes at home?”  
“He said he wasn’t feeling well last Sunday and I had a feeling it was a ploy to get out of school so I told him to sleep it off.”   
“Was that the only time?”  
“Honestly I was gone for a while last week. I travel a lot for my job.”  
“I know. Jack has written about it in his daily journals. He writes about his mom and aunt Jessica too. You’re his most popular subject though.” You reach onto your desk beside you and pass him Jack’s journal.   
“I bookmarked a couple pages you should read.” You stand up and move behind your desk, “I can’t let you take the journal so you’ll have to read them now.” He nods and opens to the first one you have marked. You get to work on grading spelling tests. A few minutes later you hear him turn the pages to the second bookmark, then he does it again a few minutes later.   
“Could I get copies of those?”  
“I had a feeling you might want those.” You say with a smiling passing him a folder with the three entries in it. The first about his mom, what he remembered and how much he misses her. The second about his dad and how he’s his hero. How he works to save people. The last one is about how he hates how much his dad has to go away for work, you know that Mr. Hotchner loves his son very much and you didn’t want to make him feel guilty but he needed to know. “I know it’s not easy being a single parent, but I felt it was important for you to know what was going on in his head. Boys his age are starting to figure out what kind of men they’re going to be.” His brown eyes meet yours, “I think Jack is going to be a very good man. Make sure to talk to him as often as possible when you’re away. Even if it’s just a couple of texts asking how his day went. That can make a huge difference.”   
“If the bullying goes on will you call me? Or if you notice any other behavioral shifts?”  
“Of course.” He gives you a small smile that you return. His phone buzzes and he looks down at it.   
“That’s really all I had for you if you need to take that.” You say with a smile.   
“It’s just my coworkers. They’re going out for happy hour tonight and want me to come.”   
“Well, since Zack Smith’s epic slumber party is tonight you should have nothing to worry about.” You say gathering up your things.   
“Epic huh?” He says with a smile.  
“They’ve all been talking about it for the past week.” You say laughing. He holds your door open for you then when it swings shut you lock it. He’s still waiting for you.   
“Can I walk you to your car?” He asks and that’s when you see his gun.   
“Sure. What kind of work do you do? Jack’s never said.”  
“I work at the FBI.”  
“That must be dangerous work.” You say stepping into the cool spring air.   
“It can be. I have a good team around me.” He agrees following your lead to your car.   
“That’s good. I can see why Jack would look up to you so much.” You unlock the small car and drop your bag into the back seat. “Thanks for walking me to my car.” He nods and you climb in. Only then does he give you a small smile then walk away.


	6. Chapter 6

You arrive at The Virgil twenty minutes later. You pull off your cardigan and throw on a different shirt over your tank top and grab a different pair of shoes from the back seat. You yank those on and grab your wallet then head inside to find Dave. You scan the crowd for a few minutes when a dark skinned bald man steps into your view.   
“Lila?” You’ve never seen this guy in your life, you’d remember someone who looked like him.   
“I’m sorry. Do I know you?”  
“No,” he laughs, “I’m a coworker of Dave’s. He pointed at you when I was at the bar. Come on back, we’re in the corner.” He points and you see Dave looking over. He gives you a wave and you can’t help but laugh. “I’m Derek Morgan by the way.”  
“Nice to meet you. Lila Perris.”  
“How do you know Rossi?”  
“I’m his house keeper.”  
“So that’s how he keeps his place so clean! I knew it.”   
“Was it supposed to be a secret?” You ask with a laugh.   
“No, it’s just it was always a puzzle to me how his office was so chaotic and his house was so clean.” He says leading you to the table.   
“You made it!” Dave says with a grin, “what can I get you to drink?”  
“Lemon water.” Derek looks at you in surprise. “I can’t drink tonight.”  
“It’s a Friday night.” He says, passing a blonde woman her drink. She’s pretty with glasses and dark lipstick.   
“I know.” You smile, “See the woman in the red dress, my 7 o'clock?” They all look, “Don’t all look at the same time! Damn.” You shake your head. Stealthy they are not. “She’s on the PTA, and is a huge gossip.”   
“Oh, lemon water it is.” Dave says with a smile as he makes his way toward the bar.   
“I’m Penelope Garcia. That’s Dr. Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss and JJ and her husband Will.” She says pointing to each person. Emily is the only one whose paying attention. JJ, Will and Spencer are playing pool, JJ seems to be winning.   
“Hi.” You say shaking Emily’s hand across the table.   
“Dave said you’re a teacher.” She calls over the music.   
“Yea, sixth grade.”   
“One of our colleagues has a son that age.”  
“I hope he’s not one of the ones I’m having issues with. I have a little gang of bullies right now.” You say with a sigh as Dave passes you a glass of lemon water, “thank you.”  
“What do you do about that?” He asks joining the conversation.   
“I’ve been calling parents in. Most of them have been receptive but there’s always that one who refuses to believe their child isn’t a saint.” You turn and rest your elbows on the table. “If that doesn’t help I’m going to start having to do if/then punishments and rewards.”  
“What’s that?” Penelope asks.   
“If I catch you doing X good or bad thing you’ll get a ticket or a dollar. We have a government system set up to teach them money and what different positions do and how the court system works.”   
“That’s really cool.” Emily says taking a sip of her drink. “Oh, hey Hotch is here.” She waves and a few moments later a familiar voice says  
“Sorry I’m late.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Mr. Hotchner!” You say surprised, “Oh sorry, Agent Hotchner.”   
“Ms. Perris.” He seems equally surprised to see you standing with his co-workers.   
“No way,” Derek says looking between you, “you’re Jack’s teacher aren’t you?”  
“I am.” You say with a laugh. What are the chances?   
“How do you know Dave?” Agent Hotchner asks.   
“She cleans Rossi’s house!” Derek says with a grin. He seems to really like that he’s found something new out about his coworker.   
“You do?”  
“Yea, I go after I get done at school. But I should go.”  
“You just got here.” Dave protests.   
“I know. But with the issues I’m having with kids at school it’s not a good time for me to be seen out with a students parent.”  
“Alright. Next weekend. Everyone can come to my house and I’ll cook. Sound good?”  
“Yea. Sorry I can’t stay. It was nice to meet you all. Agent Hotchner.” You’re almost to your car when you hear someone behind you. Glancing over your shoulder you’re relieved to see its only Agent Hotchner.   
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.” He says softly pulling his hands out of his pockets.   
“You didn’t.” You lie.   
“I did. I can see how your right fist is balled and you’re in fight or flight stance.”   
“Well I am a single woman out at night.” You say relaxing your right hand and shifting to a more neutral position. “Did you need something?”  
“I wanted to apologize.” That was not what you were expecting to hear.   
“For what?”  
“You wanted to enjoy a night out and I’ve ruined that.”  
“Actually you’ve saved me.” You say with a soft laugh, “I really only came out for Dave’s sake. He felt badly about something he didn’t need to feel sorry about and was trying to make it up to me.”   
“Are the two of you, together?”  
“No. No. Dave is like my uncles. I come from an Italian family and they’re all far from here so he’s kind of become a replacement uncle.” You smile, “And he acts a lot like my uncles.” Dave is standing in the window watching you an Agent Hotchner not so stealthily. Agent Hotchner glances over his shoulder and chuckles softly.   
“Could I make it up to you?” He asks turning back to you. “Maybe with dinner. Tomorrow night?”  
“As much as I would love to. And I would love to I can’t. The school has a strict no fraternizing policy after a teacher was caught giving a student higher grades because they were socializing with the parent.”   
“And if you weren’t Jack’s teacher?”  
“I would have loved to.” He nods and you smile back at him. You climb into your car and before you can pull into traffic he taps your window. You roll it down and he hands you his business card.   
“Incase you notice anything else is bugging Jack.” He says with a soft smile, “What are you doing June 11th?”  
“Finishing end of the year stuff why?”  
“Would you like to go to dinner?” You can’t help but laugh at that one.   
“I’d love to. See you then Agent Hotchner.”  
“Please. Call me Aaron. And text me whenever you want.” You smile up at him and give a small nod then head for home.


	8. Chapter 8

The next week seems to fly by. Mrs. Brooks never does make good on her threat to have your job, not that you were ever worried. You do notice however that Jack seems much happier on Thursday. He’s engaged, and back to his normal self, even when Jamison tries to puncture Jack’s good mood it doesn’t work. You know that his father is out on a case because you hadn’t seen Dave since Monday. During lunch you had texted Aaron.   
‘You asked me to let you know if I noticed any changes in Jack’s behavior and today he was back to his normal self. He’s been happy and engaged. It’s a welcome sight.’  
He had responded much faster than you had expected him to.   
‘I took your advice and sent him a text this morning. I told him I missed him and was proud of what a wonderful man he was becoming.’ You can’t keep the smile off your face. Why couldn’t all parents be like this?   
'I’m glad. It seems like it worked.’  
'Are you going to Dave’s on Saturday?’ He question catches you off guard. But you answer honestly.   
'Yes’   
'Will you get in trouble if Jack and I are there?’  
'I’d be surprised. It’s not my party I can’t help whose invited to a private event.’   
'Good. I’d like to spend more time with you.’ You’re surprised by how bold he is. Surprised but not unpleased.   
'Good. I feel the same way.’ You’re heart is pounding, you’re not quite sure why. It wasn’t like he wasn’t being as honest as you were.   
'I’m glad to hear that. I have to go. I’ll see you Saturday.’ You don’t get the chance to respond to him because your class comes charging in from recess.   
Saturday arrives and you head over to Dave’s a little early. You’re not dressed up exactly, just wearing your favorite pair of jeans and a form fitting black tshirt. You don’t bother knocking when you get to Dave’s, you just let yourself in a usual.   
“Hey, Dave. I’m here!” You call walking toward the kitchen.   
“Welcome!” Dave says turning toward you, “you brought food?”   
“French this time.” You say placing the plate on the counter. “Deep fried Brie.”   
“Sounds delicious.”   
“And terrible for you.” You laugh, that’s when the doorbell rings. “I’ll get it.” You call heading for the door. Opening it you find Penelope and Derek standing there each holding their own plates of food. “Dave is going to be so pissed that you guys brought food too.” You whisper as they come into the house.   
“Well it’s not like we can bring wine. He’s got the most amazing collection ever.” Penelope responds in her own whisper.   
“Good point.” You agree and the doorbell rings again. “Go ahead I’ll get it.” They head toward the kitchen and you open the door to find JJ and her family along with a very happy Spencer whose playing with JJ’s blonde son. She too has food and so do both Emily and Aaron when they show up.


	9. Chapter 9

You enjoy the night, Jack and Henry hang out in Dave’s massive TV room watching sports for most of the night so you don’t have to be completely on guard. The only time you’re really around him is during dinner and dessert. He doesn’t say much and you can tell he’s a little weirded out by the fact that his teacher has a life outside the school. You hear the two boys, and Derek, cheer from the tv room and can’t help but give a soft laugh from your spot by the window.   
“I told Jack not to mention you were here tonight.” Aaron says softly from next to you. He’s got two glasses of wine in his hands and a he passes you one. “Dave said this was your favorite.”  
“Thank you.” You say taking it from him then taking a sip. “Your team seems to have disappeared.” You note with a smile.   
“This is where JJ and Will got married so they went out back. Prentiss, sorry Emily and Penelope went to see how the game was going and Dave went for more wine.”  
“How convenient.” You tease and he nods.   
“Would you like to go for a walk?” He asks softly, you nod and he leads you to the front door. It’s one of those spring nights that still feels, and smells, like spring but tells you that summer is on the way. There’s a light breeze but no bugs flying around and the moon is bright a full.   
“How did this week go?” He asks softly as you walk away from the front of the house. Dave’s yard is truly massive and you quickly loose sight of the house. Aaron weaves his fingers through yours.   
“It was good. Some of the bullying has calmed down, I think that bringing parents in helped but not as much as dishing out tickets did.”  
“How many did you give out this week?”  
“Twenty-seven. An average week I give out maybe ten.”   
“Wow.” He looks surprised, you weren't messing around you'd had enough of the bullying.  
“Yea some of the kids didn’t know what hit them.” You sigh softly, “I hate being the mean strict teacher though.”   
“If it makes you feel better Jack loves you.”  
“He’s a good kid. One of my best.”  
“I bet you say that to all the dads.” He teases and you laugh.   
“No. I’m not one to sugar coat anything. I’m honest about my feelings.”   
“Good.” You continue on in silence for a while. The comfortable kind.  
“How did your last case go? Dave seemed much better this time.”  
“We saved the last victim. Something that we all count as a win.” He sighs deeply.   
“I’m sorry.” You murmur, feeling guilty.  
“For what?”  
“I didn’t mean to make you upset or uncomfortable.” You should have known better than to ruin his night with bad memories.   
“No no no you didn’t. I just don’t talk about work much outside of it.” He glances down at you then away again, “honestly Lila. You didn’t do anything wrong.”  
“We can talk about whatever you want.” You say softly. “Books, movies, sports, the weather. Whatever you want.” He laughs softly.   
“I hope I can be better company than weather conversation.” That’s when his phone rings and he groans. “Hotchner. Yea. I’ll let them know.”   
“You have a case?”  
“Yea. I’m so sorry.”  
“Don’t be.” The two of you turn and head back to the house.


	10. Chapter 10

Just before you come into view of Dave’s house you let go of Aaron’s hand with a soft sigh. You notice the corners of his mouth go up slightly and he gives a breathy laugh. He stops then and you glance up at him, he kisses you softly then. His hands are gentle on your face and it couldn’t be more perfect. He pulls away, “Sorry I shouldn’t have. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”  
“It’s fine. I don’t kiss and tell.” He laughs softly. “Although, admittedly this will make the wait for June 11th so much longer.” He grins down at you then the two of you step away from one another and continue to the house.  
You find the rest of the team and Aaron delivers the bad news about having to leave. The house clears out quickly, you start to clean from the party and Dave stares at you.   
“Lila? What are you doing?”  
“My job.” He looks at you in irritation.  
“You don’t have to do this now.”   
“I know. But if I get it done tonight I don’t have to come back tomorrow morning.”   
“Good point. Lock up will you?”  
“Of course. Stay safe.” He nods then heads out to his car. The lights slide across the wall as he pulls out of the driveway. You pull your favorite record out of Dave’s collection and put it on while you clean. You sing along while doing the dishes and packing the leftovers into containers to put in the fridge. Today was deep clean day so you have to change the record twice before you finish the dishes, sweeping, moping, dusting and vacuuming. You turn on Dave’s light timer in the back room then make your way through the house. Clicking off lights and checking doors and windows as you go. Once you’ve made sure everything is locked up and lights are off you gather up your things and a the leftover food, since Dave wasn’t going to be home, and head out the front door. You turn on the security system then lock the door behind you. You’re almost to your car when you hear the footsteps behind you. The shock that goes through you is powerful enough to cause you to drop the food in your hands. You hit the side of your car on your way to the ground. You struggle to stand up when the shock hits you again and the world goes black.


	11. Chapter 11

When you open your eyes next your head is pounding. You’re tied to a chair and it looks like it’s still dark outside, the kind of dark that’s right before the dawn. There’s a gag in your mouth and you’re thirsty as hell, you try the bindings but there’s no give. You groan softly and raise your head to give stock of the room you’re in. It’s dark, cold and the one window is up high. You’re in a basement. The floor creeks above you and you jump slightly, you don’t know why you were taken or even what day it is. Dave won’t know you’re gone until he comes back from this case and you don’t know how long that will be. The school would have noticed sooner if Monday wasn’t Memorial Day. You hear the floor creaking as your captor walks across the room above you. A door opens at the top of the stairs and they come thumping down the stairs. To your surprise you know him.   
“Hello Lila.” He says softly. “I’m going to take the gag out of your mouth. Don’t scream or I’ll have to hurt you.” He removes the gag and you swallow trying to rid your mouth of the dryness.   
“Why am I here?”  
“You know why!” He sneers. “What do you want from David?” David? It takes you a second to realize that he means Dave.   
“Nothing. I work for him like you do.”   
“I’m his biggest fan!” He yells, “Do you love Dave?”  
“No, I care about him like an uncle.”  
“Don’t lie to me.” He sneers, you start crying then, tears sliding slowly down your cheeks. “What do you want from him? His money?”   
“I don’t want anything from him.” He slaps you then, the crack startles you more than the pain does. He leaves you then, you hear him stomping around upstairs.  
He doesn’t come back for hours, you’re tired, hungry, thirsty and really have to pee when he comes back.  
“Please. Can I go to the restroom?” You ask softly. He groans but stalks toward you.  
“If you try to run I’ll tase you.”  
“I won’t.” You promise. He undoes your bindings and yanks you to your feet. He pulls you along behind him to a small bathroom. Shoving you in he slams the door and you lock it behind you before using the toilet. You wash your hands the cup them and drink greedily. After a few handfuls you feel much better, putting some on your face helps even more. You take a deep breath and open the door. He’s standing across the hallway from the door with a scowl on his face and the taser in his hand. He pulls you back down the stairs and into the chair. He binds your wrists tightly, scowls at you again then leaves.


	12. Chapter 12

The day creeps by. You honestly don’t even know what day it is. You’re assuming it hasn’t been long, a taser should not knock you out that long. Right? You’re hoping that Dave or Aaron have at least noticed something is wrong. You’re usually very good at communication and one or both of them text with you almost every day. Hopefully one of them has noticed that something is wrong. You’re so uncomfortable, the bindings are tighter than they were before, god how long has it been? Tears are streaking down your face again, what is he going to do to you? You try to think back to what he said, he was Dave’s number one fan. You could probably use that. Use the relationship that you do have with Dave to get him to let you go. If he would only come back down, you listen for any sound of him upstairs. Closing your eyes you don’t hear anything, maybe he’s gone to Dave’s house. Greg worked as one of the lawn crew and you’d seen him a few times at Dave’s house. As the night comes you try again unsuccessfully to get the bindings undone. Why did this happen? You try to slip a hand out and you’re only successful in hurting yourself.   
You hear him come back not long after it gets dark. He comes downstairs and storms over to you.   
“Where is Dave?”  
“What?”  
“Where is he?”   
“On a case. I don’t know where.” He looks at you like he doesn’t quite believe you. “Honestly I don’t know. I do know that he’s going to be worried about me when he comes back and realizes I’ve been missing. I bet he’d be really grateful if you brought me over to his place.”   
“Are you trying to trick me?” He snarls.   
“No. I’m trying to let you meet Dave. That is what you want isn’t it? To meet him, talk to him?”  
“Why would you do that?”  
“Because he would be glad that you brought me back safe. He might even reward you.”  
“Do you think he would read my book?”   
“I don’t see why not. Why don’t we head over to the house?”  
“He’s not home.”   
“Maybe I could have my phone? I’ll call him and see when they’re coming home.”   
“Nice try.” He laughs and wags a finger at you. “I won’t have you tipping anyone off.”   
“I wasn’t going to. I assumed you’d listen in.”  
“No.” He snaps and then he shoves the gag back into your mouth. He turns away and heads back upstairs, and clicks off the light plunging the basement into darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

It’s been three days. Three long days of being tied to a chair. He lets you go to the bathroom two times a day but hasn’t fed you. You gulp down water every time he lets you go to the bathroom and that helps the ache from your hunger. It’s the darkest part of the night now. You’ve been seeing a lot of the day lately, from sun up to sun down and everything in between. It’s hard to sleep bound to a chair in a cold basement. You’ve drifted off a few times but never long enough or deep enough to do you any good. The first hallucinations where earlier that day. You could have sworn you saw Dave in the window looking down at you, but then you blinked and he was gone.   
Greg hasn’t come down to have any more chats. He did come take a picture of you with your phone, you assume to send to Dave, proof of life and all. He’s been keeping his schedule, cocky jackass. You’re resting your eyes when you hear the feet above you. That’s the other hallucination you’ve been having. That they’re coming to save you. Dave and Aaron come bursting into the basement and with murmurs of worry and looks of anger and fear that give way to relief they save you. But you always snap out of it, just before Aaron’s hands reach for the bindings at your wrists you snap out of it. Sure enough this time is the same. Aaron is leading, Dave close on his heels with JJ bringing up the rear. That’s new.   
“Lila are you okay?” Aaron asks, his voice sounds funny, richer than you expected it to be. You groan.  
“You’re not real.” You whisper. “This is just in my head.”   
“Lila.” Dave sounds weird too, “Lila open your eyes.” Then you feel their hands at your wrists. Your eyes snap open. They’re real.   
“You’re real?” You whisper in disbelief, looking from one man to the other. “You’re real.” The tears start to spill down your cheeks.   
“Yea we’re real. We split the team up when we realized you were missing.” Dave says.   
“I’m sorry.”  
“For what tesoro?” Dave asks softly.   
“You just called me sweetheart.” You say loosing track of your train of thought.   
“What are you sorry for?”  
“He snuck up on me. I’m sorry.”  
“No no don’t be.” Aaron says softly, “just know he won’t hurt you again. I’m going to pick you up okay?”  
“I want to walk.” You mutter stubbornly.   
“As long as you don’t get hurt tesoro.” Dave says giving your hand a squeeze.   
“Okay zio.” You call him uncle and receive a small smile. You stand slowly and when you begin to loose your balance both men reach out to steady you. “I’m fine.” You grumble, straitening your shoulders you head for the stairs. You stumble up the first two stairs before loosing your balance. Aaron’s hands are there to stop your fall, and with a soft whimper you give into your pride and let him carry you the rest of the way up the stairs.


	14. Chapter 14

When Aaron gets you up the stairs you’re surprised to see how many law enforcement have surrounded the house. There’s an ambulance waiting for you, doors open and when the EMT’s see you they come running over.   
“I’m going to send Dave with you to the hospital okay?” Aaron says softly, the rocking movements his body is making with each step is making it hard for you to stay awake.   
“Okay mio eroe.” You mumble into his neck.   
“What does that mean?”   
“My hero.” He places you gently on the gurney then kisses your forehead.   
“I’m sorry it took us so long.” He mutters then moves away. Dave climbs into the back of the ambulance after they put you in.   
“I’ll call you with an update. See you soon.”  
Dave says to Aaron and that’s the last thing you remember until waking in the hospital several hours later.   
At first you panic. You’ve got a needle in your arm, you’re in very few clothes, nothing looks familiar until you see him sleeping in a chair in the corner.   
“Zio?” You mumble but it’s loud enough to wake him. You see him sit up and he comes over to you.   
“How are you feeling?”  
“Like a champ.” He laughs softly as he reaches the side of your bed. “What day is it?”  
“Thursday.”  
“How long was I asleep?”   
“Almost twenty hours.”   
“Holy shit.” You say staring at him, “thanks for sticking around.”   
“Of course.” He pats your arm and sits down on the side of your bed. “The nurse wanted me to page her when you when woke up.” He reaches to the button and it lights up.  
“When they let me out of here can we get some pizza?” He laughs softly, “l just really want pizza.”  
“We can get pizza.” He promises, “it might be a few days though.”  
“Why?”  
“Depending on the test results and what the doctor recommends.”  
“Dave. I need pizza.”   
“Alright, if you have to stay I’ll go get some pizza.” He promises just before the nurse comes in.


	15. Chapter 15

Late the next day you’re allowed out of the hospital. They’d wanted to keep you for observation, you were extremely dehydrated but other than that and a mild concussion you were fine. Physically. Dave warned you there might be some flashbacks or ptsd issues. You had told him everything, everything that you had remembered. Dave brought you pizza from an authentic pizza place in town last night and had insisted on staying the night. The next morning you’d sent him home with the promise that you’d call when they were going to release you. You’d called him twenty minutes ago and when Aaron walks in you’re surprised.   
“Dave told me you needed a ride.” He says with a smile.   
“Just back to Dave’s. That’s where my car is.”   
“How are you feeling?” He asks as the two of you head out of the hospital. You want to hold his hand but since you’re in public and you don’t know whose around. He wraps a protective arm around your shoulders and pulls you towards him as a few nurses go sprinting past you to the sound of a code blue. You press your far hand against his chest feeling his heart beat under your hand.   
“I’m good. Ready to go home. How did you guys know I needed help?”  
“At first I thought you might be upset with me because of the end of our walk.” You assume he means when he kissed you. “But then when Jack said you weren’t at school and you didn’t answer Dave we both got suspicious. I had some local agents check your house and Dave’s and when they found your stuff all scattered outside your car we came back to find you.”  
“How did you?”  
“Greg wasn’t exactly stealthy. The second he saw Dave and me he took off.”  
“That’s weird. He wouldn’t shut the hell up about Dave.” You comment causing Aaron to laugh.   
“He wasn’t so thrilled when it was me who walked into the interrogation room that’s for sure.”  
“I hope your other case didn’t suffer because of me.” He looks down at you with a surprised look on his face. “What?”  
“We would always come for you if you’re in trouble. Don’t ever doubt that.”


	16. Chapter 16

You continue talking to Aaron over the last month of school. Returning to your normal life right away had really helped keep you from being too freaked out. Dave insisted on walking you to your car everyday for the two weeks immediately following your kidnapping. He had offered you a room at his house but you had declined, you wanted to put the whole experience behind you as quickly as possible. You’d been lucky, other than a couple of nightmares you were fine. Aaron had assured you that the nightmares were normal.  
“Ms. Perris?” Jack says pulling your attention from the book you were reading while the class was watching the movie.  
“Yes Jack?”  
“Do you have a crush on my dad?” He whispers passing you his yearbook and a pen. That was not what you were expecting. “Because he has a crush on you. But he said that because you were my teacher you couldn’t go out with him.”  
“That’s true.”  
“Do you have a crush on him?” He’s not letting this one go apparently.   
“Yea Jack. I do.” You answer him honestly as you pass him back his yearbook.  
“Good.” He says taking the yearbook from you with a grin. That’s all he says then goes and sits back down, you feel like you’ve just gotten a stamp of approval from Jack. When the bell rings the kids all dash from the room.  
“Have a good summer! Be safe!” You call, a few of the girls give you hugs before they leave. You follow them out of the building and wave as the buses pull away, a yearly tradition. As you’re walking back into your classroom your phone buzzes in your pocket.   
‘I hear you have a crush on me.’ Jack moved quickly. You can’t help but laugh.   
‘Funny. I heard the same thing about you.’  
'Really? What did he say after you told him you had a crush on me?’  
'He said good.’  
'That’s it?’  
'Yea.’  
'Good. That means he really is okay with me going out with you tonight.’  
'Tonight? It’s only the 10th.’  
'It is?’ You’re not sure if he’s being facetious or not.   
'I can’t tonight. Not until the final grades are in. Tomorrow night okay?’  
'Okay. I’ll pick you up at seven.’  
'I can’t wait.’ You respond honestly. You’ve literally been waiting for this date for months.   
'Good.’


	17. Chapter 17

The next day is crammed with work. You do your final grades first, just so that if anyone does see you out with Aaron you can’t get into trouble for it. You log grades at the end of every week so you’ve got a good trail that shows the progress of Jack’s grades. You text Aaron all day, some how it makes the day both drag and fly by at the same time. He pulls into your driveway at exactly 7, you grab your wallet and throw it into your purse. He knocks softly and you open the door instantly.   
“Wow. You look, amazing.” He says breathlessly and you can’t help but keep the smile off your face.   
“Thank you. You look great too.” You respond kissing him softly. He wraps his arms around you and you put your hands around the back of his neck. God it’s so nice to be able to kiss him on your front porch. He pulls away and smiles down at you.   
“That was nice.” He laughs softly.   
“I’ve been wanting to do that since last time.” You say not looking at him.   
“Really?”  
“Yea.” He tilts your chin up and kisses you again. Slipping his tongue into your mouth you wrap your arms tightly around his neck and groan softly. You’re flush against him and have never felt more comfortable or safe before. You pull your lips from his then wrap an arm through his, weaving your fingers together like they were molded for that purpose alone. The two of you move off of the porch and toward his truck. He looks over at you with that little half smile he does and you’re gone all over again.  
Oh god are you gone.


End file.
